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Committee Spotlight: President’s Committee on Sustainability

by nancy_howell • June 22, 2016 • Comments Off on Committee Spotlight: President’s Committee on Sustainability

Some may know that Emerson has a sustainability coordinator—Amy Elvidge—who is leading the charge to make Emerson more sustainable. But others may not be aware that there is a campus-wide President’s Committee on Sustainability.

The committee was created after President Emerita Jacqueline Liebergott signed the ACUPCC (American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment) in 2007. The committee, whose establishment was a requirement of becoming a signatory, helped draft the College’s climate action plan.

Since then, the President’s Committee on Sustainability has continued to work on solutions to meet the requirements of the ACUPCC and promote sustainability on campus and beyond. Some of the committee’s past initiatives have included:

Curriculum enhancement, including the expansion of sustainability topics and courses

The removal of plastic five-gallon water bottles and individual water bottle sales on campus in exchange for filtered water fountains and reusable bottles

Trayless dining facilities, which drastically cut back on water and energy use

The committee is currently working on reducing the amount of waste that is produced on campus. Committee members have started a beta project to remove waste bins from faculty and staff offices in exchange for shared bin locations. This cuts back on plastic waste bags and encourages more single-stream recycling.

Other topics at recent meetings include office composting, expansion of the K-cup recycling program, and a system to offset Emerson’s air travel emissions. Air travel emissions is an important topic for the committee, because air travel accounts for a very substantial amount of Emerson’s carbon footprint.

True to the original mission, the President’s Committee on Sustainability has the following goals: